Immortality Through Array Formations (The Quest for Immortality)

Chapter 1128: A Calculation

Mo Hua fell into deep thought.

Ordinary karmic arts only touch on the success or failure of a matter, or the life and fate of a person—this is a small scope.

But if the matter is significant enough, involving many people and strong karmic forces, then it becomes great karma.

And if it relates to the rise and fall of a state, or even the fate of all living beings under heaven, that even greater category of karma is known as "Heaven's Mandate" (Tianji).

The world often lumps together "heaven's will" and "karma," but in truth, they are quite different.

Without careful study, one would indeed be confused.

For most people, karma only relates to their own fortune or misfortune—it never rises to the level of "Heaven's Mandate."

This is the difference in scope.

Moreover, at the foundational level, karmic power is also quite unique.

Just as Mo Hua had previously sensed, this so-called "power of karma" is not merely a cultivation force of the divine mind— For example: intent, strange force, evil thought, divine consciousness, etc.

Nor is it simply a force from the material world— Such as qi, spiritual energy, or physical body.

According to all of Mo Hua's understanding of the Mandate and his intuitive insight, karma appears more like a grand Dao force blending divine mind and reality.

It partially consists of tangible components—using reality as a medium.

And it also includes divine guidance—using the divine mind as a bridge.

It is a state where "real" and "illusory" coexist.

Karma transcends ordinary objective forces. It is mystical beyond measure.

But because it contains real, material elements, it is not merely metaphysical or purely a matter of theurgy.

Rather, it's more like— Mo Hua furrowed his brows and pondered carefully.

"Like discovering laws of karma from observable phenomena, then using spiritual methods to master those laws—and finally reversing reality itself through those laws?"

"From real to illusion, then from illusion back to real—until real and illusion become one?"

These insights were sparked during his study of the Great Wilderness Demon Bone Divination, triggering his understanding of karmic laws beyond basic karmic techniques.

This insight was obscure and hazy.

Mo Hua only vaguely felt that this might be the way.

But as for the specific rules and how karma manifests in all things, he wasn't yet clear.

After all, he had only just begun. He needed to study more, observe more, practice more, and combine knowledge with action before deeper realizations would come.

His karmic techniques could only become stronger that way.

Understanding the Dao is only the beginning.

Walking the Dao is the essence.

Understanding without action equals no understanding.

"But then… how do I actually apply karmic arts?"

Heaven's Mandate and Karma—these are macro-level concepts.

Real and Illusion—those are the foundational logic.

So what about application at the level of actual techniques?

Mo Hua sank into thought. After a while, he opened the Great Wilderness Demon Bone Divination manual and re-examined some of the key texts and hexagram diagrams within.

The demon bone divination method had complex characters and chaotic hexagrams.

But at its core, the technique was based on karma.

Peeling away the outer layers of the "technique," Mo Hua roughly summarized its internal karmic logic into three categories:

Tracing the Cause: Using known "effects" to infer the past.

Predicting the Effect: Using known "causes" to divine the future.

General Calculation: Using existing karmic links to deduce the current time, place, and fortune or misfortune of a person, event, or object.

These three methods of divination differ in form, but in essence, they all rely on the same karmic principles, and so are not strictly separated.

Beyond the method itself, karmic divination also requires specific mediums and consumes a large amount of divine mind.

If the karma involved is vast, it might even require ritual altars and ceremonial setups.

And this is only the surface-level "technique" of karmic application.

Deeper uses of karmic arts are far more complex.

Karmic techniques are not as simple as they appear.

They are not like regular magic spells, where learning the form means you can definitely cast it with guaranteed power.

There are simply too many variables involved.

The same karmic technique can produce different results in different hands.

Using the same divination method on different people can yield different predictions.

For example: "Mr. Wu" used the same demon bone technique to divine others and was fine—but when he used it to divine Mo Hua, he died.

Sometimes, the strength of karmic technique has no direct correlation to one's fortune or misfortune.

Typically, someone who doesn't understand karma cannot see their own fate and is likely to die in misfortune.

But someone who does understand karma can predict fate, avoid danger, and survive longer.

On the flip side, a cultivator who doesn't understand karma won't ever gaze upon terrifying truths—and thus won't invite catastrophic disasters.

But a karmic master who is extremely strong, with sharp insight, might, precisely because of their strength, accidentally glimpse a forbidden truth, inviting a disaster too great to bear.

Not studying karma is dangerous.

Studying karma… might be even more dangerous.

Moreover, karmic studies are unfathomably deep.

The Great Wilderness Demon Bone Divination is only an entry-level karmic method. It contains only basic forms of "divination." Even within the Great Wilderness' karmic system, it's likely seen as quite rudimentary.

Even so, this so-called "simple" divination art is already filled with countless hidden subtleties.

For example: using demon bones to divine—each different bone corresponds to different methods.

Different methods yield different hexagrams.

Different hexagrams lead to different interpretations.

Different interpretations lead to different outcomes in determining good or bad fortune.

And this is just one category within the Great Wilderness divination system.

Even within "Mr. Wu's" little manual, this only accounts for a tiny fraction.

If one looks broader, Mo Hua guessed that within the karmic Dao, there must be even more advanced and profound principles.

Such as: karmic insight, attack and defense, grafting, theft, reversal, and so on...

Just thinking about these concepts made them feel unbearably deep and mysterious.

And all of this— is the Path of Heaven's Mandate and Karma.

Incredibly perilous.

Incredibly obscure.

Incredibly esoteric.

Yet, incomparably exquisite.

Mo Hua felt deeply moved.

The path of seeking the Dao is filled with great danger.

The study of cultivation is vast and boundless.

There are so many things that remain unknown until studied—and once studied, they reveal endless layers of complexity.

All of this knowledge… was the result of the painstaking efforts of the sages before him.

Especially with such perilous and profound karmic arts—for them to have been systematized and passed down, how many genius minds throughout the ages must have poured in their heart and soul?

Were it not for those extraordinary cultivators, who studied tirelessly generation after generation and passed on their insights, learning such Daoist arts would require an unimaginable amount of time, effort, and detours.

In his heart, Mo Hua felt both deep respect and gratitude.

And at the same time, great anticipation.

"There's another hard but powerful art to study now…"

At the same time, he was filled with anticipation.

"There's another difficult and powerful thing I can learn…"

Mo Hua's eyes shone bright, like a blazing flame in the dark night.

From that point on, Mo Hua shifted the focus of his cultivation away from formation techniques and toward the Great Wilderness Demon Bone Divination.

It wasn't that he didn't want to practice formations anymore—it was simply that there were no harder formations left for him to study.

The Reverse Spirit Formation was of the twenty-pattern level.

The deduction and derivation of the Great Wilderness Azure Dragon Formation Diagram was also at the twenty-pattern level.

Yet now, Mo Hua's divine sense had already reached twenty-one patterns.

Those twenty-pattern absolute formations no longer put enough pressure on his divine sense to temper it—they were only suitable for casual practice.

So until he could find a newer, more difficult formation, Mo Hua decided to devote a large portion of his energy to studying the Great Wilderness' demon bone divination techniques.

To his surprise, he discovered that frequent practice of divination also consumed a tremendous amount of divine sense.

While the fineness and complexity of control required might not match that of drawing formation diagrams, the sheer quantity of divine sense consumed by karmic divination was even greater.

So in a way, this also served as another method of sharpening his divine consciousness.

Previously, Mo Hua had used copper coins for simple "divination" calculations. Although this also consumed divine sense, the process was too rudimentary—just tossing a coin or two a few times, without a formal method that could repeatedly hone and elevate his divine perception.

Now, by delving into the demon bone divination arts, he had found a new and unexpected way to temper his divine sense.

Of course, this still wasn't the ideal situation.

The ideal would be to combine karmic formations with divination.

Such a dual approach would undoubtedly be more effective at strengthening divine sense.

In fact, Mo Hua noticed that within the Great Wilderness Demon Bone Divination, there were indeed some markings that resembled formation patterns.

He suspected that these might be formations used specifically for divination.

However, what exactly these formations were, and what they were used for, Mo Hua didn't know at all.

Even the divination book itself only contained a few scattered markings—fragmented and incomplete—making it impossible to tell whether they were hexagrams, beast totems, mystical symbols, or formation patterns…

So all of this was just Mo Hua's speculation based on vague clues.

Whether karmic formations truly existed, he wasn't sure yet. He'd have to verify it later during his travels.

In the meantime, besides his study of divination, Mo Hua also kept an eye on the affairs of the Cangwolf Sect.

Sect Master Zhao was someone who liked to pretend to be righteous to deceive people—but at heart, he wasn't a bad person, and his conduct showed a sense of propriety.

He was, in fact, the most suitable person to lead the Cangwolf Sect.

And he had carried out all of Mo Hua's instructions exactly as told, often visiting to report progress.

In the guest room, Mo Hua was having tea with Sect Master Zhao.

Despite being a Golden Core cultivator, Sect Master Zhao remained humble and respectful before Mo Hua, who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage.

He said, "Everything has been done according to Young Master Mo's instructions."

"It wasn't an instruction," Mo Hua corrected, "It was a suggestion."

Sect Master Zhao sighed inwardly, then nodded. "Yes—everything was done according to Young Master's suggestions."

"The disciples are no longer allowed to worship wolf idols. They may no longer visualize wolf images, burn incense for ancestral rites, or be bewitched by so-called 'wolf nature'."

"Those disciples who were acting lawlessly have been punished."

"The most serious offenders have been handed over to the Dao Court and imprisoned."

"The elders and disciples closely associated with the former sect master have been purged… reformed."

"The sect rules have been rewritten. No more bullying markets, no more forced buying or selling, no more monopolies or annexations…"

"Disciples may no longer harass the local folk, beat or kill others—violators will be punished severely…"

…

Sect Master Zhao listed the changes one by one.

Mo Hua thought for a moment, then asked, "What about those pleasure pavilions in the inner city?"

Elder Ji had tried to use those vulgar pleasures and gambling dens to corrupt him.

Sect Master Zhao replied, "They've all been shut down, and the people were dismissed…"

Mo Hua said, "Tear the buildings down too. They're flashy and tasteless—I don't like them."

Sect Master Zhao was momentarily stunned, then sighed. "Very well."

What Young Master Mo said—so it shall be.

"But…" Sect Master Zhao hesitated, unsure whether to speak. After a pause, he sighed and said, "Young Master Mo… with such a high-handed approach, I fear it may be difficult to win the people's hearts…"

Mo Hua looked puzzled. "Why would I need to win their hearts?"

Sect Master Zhao was taken aback.

Mo Hua's gaze sharpened slightly. "You only need to win hearts when dealing with kind and decent people."

"But wolves of greed—they fear power, not virtue. Treating them well is pointless. What matters is to rule with strength and intimidate with authority. They'll come wagging their tails."

"I'm a proud genius from a fifth-grade major sect. Behind me stands the Great Void Sect of Ganxue Province."

"As long as I hold the high ground and the power, they will have no choice but to submit and flatter me."

"As for what they think, whether they accept it in their hearts—what does that matter to me?"

Sect Master Zhao was deeply shaken. After a moment, he sighed:

"Young Master speaks wisely."

After that, Sect Master Zhao followed Mo Hua's direction and established the new rules.

He also found an excuse to publicly execute several notorious Cangwolf Sect elders—sending a strong signal that "a new era" had begun. Those who followed would thrive; those who resisted would perish.

As for how the former Golden Core Sect Master Duan died—no one had seen it with their own eyes, but everyone had their suspicions.

Especially with Sect Master Zhao invoking Mo Hua's title as a "genius of a fifth-grade major sect."

Naturally, the entire Cangwolf Sect submitted in fear.

Many elders secretly began asking about Mo Hua's preferences and sent him gifts.

Mo Hua accepted them all without exception—and promptly confiscated the bribes for public use in rebuilding Cangwolf City.

This so-called "rebuilding" was simple in essence:

It meant feeding hungry cultivators.

It meant giving poor rogue cultivators a way to survive.

Such things seemed simple—but were very hard to execute.

Giving them spirit stones was no good.

Rogue cultivators at the bottom would often get robbed—or spend it recklessly even if they weren't robbed.

So Mo Hua implemented a "work-for-relief" approach. He established a forgeworks, expanded the provincial roads, and hired rogue cultivators.

That way, they had meals to eat, and the forgeworks and roads could be completed on schedule.

And once the forgeworks were completed, and the roads linked up with nearby areas, drawing in rogue cultivators along the way, Cangwolf City could develop even further.

Finally, as the late Sect Master Duan had once promised Mo Hua, Cangwolf City would eventually connect with Tongxian City, and the two could coexist and prosper—watching over each other.

Except… Sect Master Duan was only promising a dream.

But Mo Hua?

He truly intended to make it real.

...

Outside the Cangwolf City Forgeworks, it was noisy and bustling. Spiritual machinery loomed tall, and artisans packed the site, busily weaving in and out.

The forgeworks construction was in full swing.

Mo Hua inspected the site once, nodded with approval, then found a spot to sit and enjoy some tea, flipping through Mr. Wu's manuscripts as he did.

The affairs of Cangwolf City were mostly arranged by now.

In a few days, he planned to leave.

But before leaving, Mo Hua couldn't shake off a lingering sense of unease.

He had this nagging feeling that he had inadvertently overlooked something important…

The more he studied the Great Wilderness Demon Bone Divination, and the deeper his understanding of karmic Dao became, the stronger that feeling grew.

But as for what exactly he had overlooked—he had no clue.

After much thought, he could only guess that it might have something to do with "Mr. Wu."

So for the past few days, whenever he had time, he kept flipping through the manuscripts from Mr. Wu's storage pouch.

And the more he read, the more Mo Hua noticed something strange:

Strictly speaking… this "Mr. Wu" might not have been all that weak...

In fact—he wasn't weak at all. He might even be… quite powerful?

He only died because he happened to cross paths with Mo Hua, and Mo Hua secretly planted a karmic demon seed on him, leading to his mysterious death. But in terms of his mastery of Demon Bone Divination, he was actually quite accomplished.

Otherwise, how could a mere peak Foundation Establishment cultivator trace his own destiny through karmic fate and manage to navigate the fog of fate alone for so long?

The Great Wilderness Demon Bone Divination was a heritage technique from the Great Wilderness.

So Mr. Wu must have been someone from the Great Wilderness region.

But then… why did he travel all the way out here to Cangwolf City?

"Something doesn't feel right…"

Mo Hua frowned. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.

"Should I try calculating Mr. Wu's karma?"

Mo Hua pondered it seriously—then shook his head.

Karmic divination had its basic rules.

He didn't know much about Mr. Wu's past—which meant he lacked a clear "cause" to begin the divination with. That made it difficult.

Besides, Mr. Wu was already dead—and worse, he had been killed by Mo Hua himself.

That wasn't exactly a righteous deed; in karmic terms, it would be considered an evil outcome.

Under such circumstances, for the killer to trace the victim's karma…

Let's just say—it wasn't exactly polite.

Still, it wasn't impossible. Mo Hua could use Mr. Wu's belongings as a medium to carry out a karmic deduction.

But the question was—what exactly would he calculate?

Karmic divination required specific people, events, or objects to serve as the medium and reference point.

The more specific, the more accurate. The more vague, the more factors were involved, and the harder it became to deduce anything reliable.

In Mr. Wu's case, Mo Hua had far too little information. He didn't even know what event to calculate, what people it involved, or what objects were tied to it.

But he couldn't just ignore it either.

"Should I just do a random divination and see what comes up?"

Mo Hua thought for a while and decided to give it a try.

There didn't seem to be any better way.

After all, Mr. Wu was just one minor figure. Even if his understanding of karma was decent, how much danger could he really pose to someone like Mo Hua?

Especially considering—he was already dead.

So Mo Hua figured he might as well use him as practice.

Without hesitation, he returned to his room and began the divination ritual as described in the Great Wilderness Demon Bone Divination manual.

In the sealed, silent room—

Mo Hua set out a bronze brazier, placed a wolf bone inside, and ignited it with green phosphor demon-fire.

As the fire blazed and the wolf bone dried and charred,

Mo Hua tossed some of Mr. Wu's "personal effects" into the brazier as the medium, silently chanting the incantation in his mind, tracing Mr. Wu's past.

The demon bone divination activated.

A powerful wave of karmic force surged forth...

Mo Hua's golden divine sense—dense and nearly tangible—poured out like a flood.

The karmic laws began to spin rapidly.

It was as though the Great Wilderness Demon Bone Divination was being driven by a god.

And in that instant—Mo Hua's divine sense flowed outward,

The green fire roared. The wolf bone cracked. Hexagrams began to form from its fragments.

Suddenly— The heavens and earth twisted. The aura in the air surged and trembled.

Before Mo Hua's eyes, a hazy vision began to emerge:

A massive chain, like a dragon's spine, loomed in the void—binding a terrifying karmic force, one as scorching and intense as a blazing sun consuming the heavens.

Mo Hua's pupils shrank sharply. A chill gripped his heart.

He immediately waved his hand—overturning the brazier, shattering the wolf bone with his spiritual power, snuffing out the demon-fire, and finally casting a fireball spell to burn everything to ash—utterly destroying all traces.

(End of this Chapter)